Commissioned Choreographers

Eduardo Vilaro, a first generation Cuban-American, began as artistic director of Ballet Hispanico in August of 2009. Mr. Vilaro has been part of the Ballet Hispanico family since 1985. As a dancer with the Ballet Hispanico Company, he performed throughout the United States, Latin America and Europe.

After training throughout New York City in dance institutions such as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center and the Martha Graham School, Mr. Vilaro received a BFA in dance at Adelphi University under the direction of Norman Walker. In 1999, he received an M.A. in Interdisciplinary Arts from Columbia College Chicago and was a recipient of their Albert P. Weissman Award. Upon his graduation from Columbia College, Mr. Vilaro founded Luna Negra Dance Theater in Chicago, a company which served as a springboard for Latino dance throughout the Midwest. Under his ten-year artistic direction, Luna Negra amassed a distinguished repertory of works by Latino choreographers such as Ron De Jesús, Vicente Nebrada, and Gustavo Ramírez Sansano. Mr. Vilaro’s own choreography is devoted to capturing the spiritual, sensual and historical essence of the Latino cultures. He created over 20 ballets for Luna Negra and has received commissions from the Ravinia Festival, the Chicago Sinfonietta, the Grant Park Festival, the Lexington Ballet and the Chicago Symphony. He has collaborated with major dance and design artists as well as musicians such as Paquito D’Rivera, Susana Baca, Luciana Souza, and Tiempo Libre. In 2001 he was a recipient of a Ruth Page Award for choreography, and in 2003 he was honored for his choreographic work at Panama’s II International Festival of Ballet. In 2011, Mr. Vilaro premiered Asuka, his first work for Ballet Hispanico, “an unexpected interpretation of [Celia] Cruz’s music…high-energy and colorful” (Chicago Dance Digest).

Mr. Vilaro was an associate professor at the Dance Center of Columbia College and has served on the board of directors of Dance/USA. He has also served on panels for the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts. He was a guest speaker at the Salzburg Global Forum for Young Cultural Leaders and the National Association for Latino Arts and Culture, and he continues to speak to the growing need for cultural diversity and dance education.

From St. Andrew, Jamaica, Iyun Ashani Harrison is the artistic director of Ashani Dances, a Seattle-based dance company founded in the summer of 2011. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Juilliard School and Masters of Fine Arts degree from Hollins University/American Dance Festival. Over the 13 years of his performing career in New York City, he danced with Arthur Mitchell’s Dance Theatre of Harlem, Ballet Hispanico of New York, National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica, and Ailey II. He has appeared as guest artist with Connecticut Ballet, Buglisi Dance Theatre, and Lubbock Ballet.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Robert Garland began his dance training with John Hines at the Philadelphia School for the Performing Arts and the Pennsylvania Ballet. He attended The Juilliard School where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Dance. Through a four-year scholarship, Garland studied and performed works by noted 20th century choreographers including Anthony Tudor, Paul Taylor, and Jose Limon. During this time he also performed with Ballet Hispanico of New York as a principal dancer. In 1985, he joined Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH), working under the tutelage of Founder and Artistic Director Arthur Mitchell. He quickly rose through the ranks to become a Principal Dancer, dancing many roles from the classical and contemporary repertory, including Four Temperaments, Agon, and Serenade (George Balanchine); Fancy Free (Jerome Robbins); Footprints Dressed in Red (Garth Fagan); The River (Alvin Ailey); Signs and Wonders (Alonzo King); and Concerto in F (Billy Wilson). He also was an instructor at the Dance Theatre of Harlem School, well versed in ballet technique, jazz, modern, and composition. In 1995, Mr. Garland was named Dance Theatre of Harlem’s first official Resident Choreographer, choreographing works for the Dance Theatre of Harlem’s repertory. During this time, he also served as the Director of the Dance Theatre of Harlem School. He has collaborated on a work for New York City Ballet’s Diamond Project, with NYCB Principal Dancer Robert LaFosse, in an evening dedicated to Mr. Garland’s mentor, Mr. Arthur Mitchell. He was the first black choreographer to create a work for England’s Royal Ballet. His commercial work has included music videos, commercials and short films, including the children’s television show Sesame Street, a Nike commercial featuring New York Yankee Derek Jeter, the NAACP Image Awards, a short film for designer Donna Karan, and the “Charmin Cha-Cha” for Proctor and Gamble.

Francisco Martinez was a dancer with Compañía Nacional de Danza (Spain) and Ballet Royal de Wallonie (Belgium), performing diverse works including those of Marius Petipa, Michel Fokine, George Balanchine, Jirí Kylián and Nacho Duato. He was rehearsal director for Ballet Hispanico from 1996 to 2000. Martinez has taught throughout the world and currently is on faculty at The Ailey School, Marymount Manhattan College and The Juilliard School as a ballet instructor. He has staged works by Nacho Duato, Hans van Manen and Vicente Nebrada for students of Ballet Hispanico, The Ailey School and The Juilliard School. Martinez’s choreography has been performed by students at Arts Umbrella, Harkness Youth Ballet, The Ailey School, Fordham University, Marymount Manhattan College, Boston Ballet II and San Francisco Ballet’s Trainee Program. He is also on faculty at The School at Jacob’s Pillow.

Stephen Pier has achieved a uniquely rich and varied career as a dancer, teacher, and choreographer. His credits as a performer include many years with the Jose Limon Company where the New York press hailed him as “…one of the most gifted dancers on the modern dance scene today.” He went on to become a leading soloist with the Hamburg Ballet in Germany, performing the title roles in John Neumeier’s Othello and Saint Matthew’s Passion and creating numerous other major roles during his nine years with the company. As a member of the Royal Danish Ballet for six years, Mr. Pier had the privilege of dancing leading roles in works of Bournonville, Balanchine, MacMillan, and Bejart and of collaborating with many of Europe’s finest contemporary choreographers.

Mr. Pier was invited to teach both the company and the school of the Royal Danish Ballet and served as ballet master for the company from 1992-1996. He has taught on the faculty of the Alvin Ailey School, the Martha Graham Center, Regional Dance America, New York International Ballet Competition and for many notable companies in Europe, America and Asia including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Atlanta Ballet, Bat Dor (Israel), Introdans, Scapino Ballet, Cedar Lake Dance Ensemble and the New National Theater (Tokyo). He was on the faculty of the Juilliard School from 1996 until 2010. His students have danced in companies around the world, including The Royal Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Netherlands Dance Theater, Martha Graham Company, Lar Lubovitch Company, Mark Morris Dance Company, Doug Varone Dancers, Cullberg Ballet, Cedar Lake Ensemble, Alvin Ailey and Bat Sheva.

In 2002, Mr. Pier began PierGroupDance to explore and collaborate with dancers and artists in various art forms. He has created over 30 works for the concert stage, opera, theater, and film. His work has been presented by The Hamburg Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, Royal Danish Theater, Royal Danish Opera, Bat Dor, The New National Theater, the Juilliard Dance Ensemble, The Di Capo Opera Company (NYC), Nilas Martins Dance Company, and the Dance on Film Festival at Lincoln Center. He was selected to be part of Jacob’s Pillow Choreographer’s Project in 1998. He co-founded and directed the emerging choreographer’s workshop Danses at the Royal Danish Ballet from 1990 to 1996.

He was the artistic director of Juilliard’s innovative Mentoring Program beginning in 2007, and in September 2008 he began a 3-year tenure as director of Visions and Voices: Altria/ABT Women’s Choreography Project at American Ballet Theater.

Shannon Gillen Named among New York’s top 20 artists by Brooklyn Magazine in 2013, Shannon Gillen was championed for her “emotionally compelling” work that “transcends the things it references and achieves a sort of Platonic ideal of intelligent and elevated movement.” During an extensive career as a dancer and choreographer in NYC and Europe, Gillen was a member of the Johannes Wieland Company based at Staatstheater Kassel in Germany; won commissions from Mainfranken Theater Würzburg and the TIF Theater in Kassel; and was selected as a THINK BIG choreographer-in-residence at Staatsoper Hannover. Recent projects since Gillen returned to the U.S. include commissions from New York University’s Second Avenue Dance Company, Purchase Dance Company at SUNY, and Springboard Danse Festival in Montreal; notable festivals and venues where her work has been seen include New York Live Arts, Judson Church, PULSE Fair at Art Basel Miami Beach, Bryant Park Presents, New York City’s River to River Festival, the Joyce Theater, and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. She is a graduate of the Juilliard School and earned her MFA from Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. Gillen is also dedicated to contemporary dance education and is on faculty at SUNY Purchase College, the Mark Morris Dance Center, Peridance Capezio Center, and guest teaches at NYU/Tisch, the Juilliard School, and the Hartt School. Additionally she founded VIM VIGOR DANCE COMPANY as the new home for her choreographic and educational endeavors, with performances January 28-30 at the Gelsey Kirkland Arts Center in DUMBO, Brooklyn and a contemporary summer intensive planned for August 2016. Visit www.vimvigordance.com to learn more.

Breton Tyner-Bryan is an American born dancer, choreographer, director, and photographer, as well as a highly sought after teacher. She is the creator of and currently performing in Breton Follies, an evening length cabaret production featured in Dance Magazine. Breton is a commissioned Choreographic Artist in Residence at the Gallatin School of Individualized study NYU Fall 2016. Recently she choreographed the ballet section for the viral Hillary Flash Mob campaigns in NYC/North Carolina, and has directed and choreographed immersive instillations for The Foundry LIC and New York Fashion Week. Film/Television credits include The Knick (Cinemax) Steven Soderbergh, Studio City (VICE Media) Meredith Danluck, Manhattan Love Story (ABC) Celia Rowlson-Hall, TEST (Feature Film) Chris Mason Johnson, Stories from the Microchasm and PICO John Sanborn, along with a variety of independently produced short dance films. Breton has worked with Lorin Lattaro on Waitress(Broadway), the Public Theater’s Odyssey and Twelfth Night for Shakespeare in the Park, and Encore’s God Bless you, Mr. Rosewater. Theater credits include Dorothy Parker, How to Drink like a Lady Hattie Mae Williams, Greta in her own production of Un Tanguito Cualquiera. and numerous roles she has choreographed/performed in for McKittrick Follies of Sleep No More. Concert Dance credits include works by Marius Petipa, Kirk Peterson, Alonzo King, Robert Moses, Pontus Liedberg, Norbert De La Cruz III, Francesca Harper, Kathryn Luckstone, Enzo Celli, many dance theater companies, Hartford Ballet, and Utah Ballet. She holds a BFA in Ballet Performance from the University of Utah and received her training at the School of the Hartford Ballet. By invitation she has studied with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Australian Dance Theatre and Sydney Dance Company.

Breton is on faculty at New York University, Broadway Dance Center, Peridance, Sleep No More, Ballet Hispanico, Joffrey Ballet School, and Sidra Bell Dance. She has taught for The Place (London), Dance Base Scotland, San Francisco State University, ODC Dance, LINES Ballet, Mark Morris Dance Center, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Fall For Dance Festival, Columbia Ballet Collaborative, The Edge, and Google.

Choreographic credits include Sonas Denim Commercial, Jewels in the Square presented by Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Brigham Young University, Award winning solo creations for Young Arts Miami, and Woodside Vaulters Equestrian international competitions. As a performer and choreographer her work has been featured in Pointe Magazine, Dance Informa Magazine, Broadway World, Oberon’s Grove, Huffington Post, and the New York Times.

As a photographer her work has been used by many dance companies appearing regularly in Broadwayworld.com, Headlands Center for Dance, San Francisco Chronicle, Bay Area Guardian, and San Jose Mercury News. Breton has exhibited her work at Dance Mission, Fivepoints Art House, the San Francisco Dance Film Festival, and as a featured artist at the Goethe Institute San Francisco. She is currently photographing for dance and theater in New York City.